of them would take turns attending the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—at the ‘Isha prayer. My companions and I happened to be present with the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—while he was occupied with some matter. He delayed the prayer until the night was half gone, then came out and led them in prayer. When he had finished the prayer, he said to those present: ... and cited the hadith. He added—or said:
“No one other than you has performed this prayer.” It is not known which of the two expressions he said.
Abu Musa said:
We returned, rejoicing at what we had heard from the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him.
His statement, “the night was half gone,” means that it had reached its midpoint. The bahrah of anything is its middle.
It is also said that “the night was half gone” means when its stars had risen and become bright; but the first interpretation is more prevalent. *
- “The most detested of men to Allah is the fiercely contentious adversary.”
It was reported by al-Bukhari (4523 and 7188, al-Fath), Muslim (8/57), al-Tirmidhi (2976), al-Nasa’i (2/311), Ibn Hibban (5667), al-Bayhaqi (10/108 and in al-Asma’ wa al-Sifat, 501), and Ahmad (6/55, 63, and 205), all through Ibn Abi Mulaykah, from ‘A’ishah—may Allah be pleased with her. *
- “When one of you goes to the Friday prayer, let him bathe.”
It was reported by al-Bukhari (882, al-Fath), Muslim (3/3), Ibn Abi Shaybah in his Musannaf (2/94), and Ahmad (1/46), from Abu Hurayrah:
While ‘Umar—may Allah be pleased with him—was delivering the Friday sermon, a man entered—in another narration, it was ‘Uthman. ‘Umar said, “Why do you delay coming to the prayer?!” The man replied, “As soon as I heard the call, I performed ablution!” He said, “Have you not heard the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—say: ...” and he cited the hadith. *